Ronald Eugene Caplinger, 76, of Lee, FL quietly passed away holding the hand of his wife, Kathy Hamilton on May 24, 2018 at 2:37 am, due to Leukemia. He will be greatly missed by his family, friends, and coworkers across many parts of the country. Ron was an avid motorcycle rider for most of his life. He spoke of his motorcycle trips through Florida, North Carolina, and of a tour through Montana, Idaho, and southern parts of Canada. Ron was the son of Mary Thompson and Cecil Caplinger and the older brother of Darlene Wilson, all from Peebles, Ohio. His youth was spent in Peebles, where he excelled in high school basketball and later developed an appreciation for cars and trucks. He was even known to sometimes race cars in the 1960’s. Ron’s educational background in finance led to jobs in banking and fiancé, moving his family around Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, and ultimately in Florida, where he worked for a number of banks and finance companies. He marries Jane Swisshelm (deceased), of Hillsboro, Ohio and raised four rambunctious boys: Ronnie Caplinger II (Darin Howard) of Richfield, MN, Randy Caplinger (Renee Penland-Caplinger) of Johnson City, TN, Greg (Tristen) Caplinger of Valrico, FL, and Christopher Caplinger, also of Valrico, FL. Ron was a very proud grandfather to Taylor (Aaron) Maness, Hailed Caplinger of Johnson City, TN, Chelsea (Ori) Heers of St. Petersburg, FL, Cory Caplinger of Valrico, Fl and Victoria (David) Kephart of Jacksonville, FL. He was also a very proud great- grandpa of Wylder Maness of Johnson City, TN, and Layla and Riley Kephart of Jacksonville, FL. Ron happily married Kathy in April 2018 and had genuinely looked forward to help raise Kathy’s granddaughter, Brooklyn.
Arrangements trusted to ICS Cremation & Funeral Home 357 NW Wilks Lane Lake City, FL 32055. 386-752-3436 www.icsfuneralservices.com